# of days until the Chicago Marathon: 2
# of "World Marathon Majors" in the, well, world: 6
(the others are NY, Boston, Berlin, London and Toyko)
# of expected runners at the Chicago Marathon: 45,000
# of expected spectators: 1 MILLION
(wrap your head around that...I can't...)
# of feet in total elevation gain: 20
(now imagine Kim clicking her heels together in great joy)
# of world records set on the Chicago course: 4
# in hours of the fastest time set by a male in Chicago: 2:03
(by Dennis Kimetto in 2013. He just smashed the world record again in Berlin by running a 2:02 marathon. Dude's got legz.)
# of minutes per mile running at this pace: 4:43
# in hours of the fastest time set by a female in Chicago: 2:17
(set by gold medalist Paula Radcliffe in 2002)
# of minutes per mile running at this pace: 5:14
# in hours of the average finish time in 2013: 4:32
# of minutes per mile running at this pace: a very reasonable 10:03
# in hours it will take me to finish: TBD!
**************
# of times I've looked at the weather forecast since last Friday: 27
# of times it has changed: 27
# of texts Tanya sent me wearing her cold weather gear, ready to ship it to Nevada in the event we were dealing with snow: 13
# amount of gratitude I felt towards her: immeasurable
# of times rain has been in the forecast: 4
# of times I've cursed my traction-less shoes: 4
# of laps I took around Willows Park on Sunday morning when the sprinklers were on, in an attempt to practice in the water: 5
# of weird looks received: 3
(whatever, folks)
# of times I slipped: 0
(success!)
***************
# of days until I leave: 0
# of times I've worried Brian is going to get another kidney stone and/or accidentally burn down the house: 4
Amount I'm going to miss my guys: too vast to describe
How I'm going to resolve that sadness? Two words: ROOM SERVICE
# in minutes spent daydreaming about having a hotel room ALL TO MYSELF on Michigan Avenue: 22
# of minutes spent on the phone, being laughed at by a hotel employee when I very naively asked him if a.) their room service is 24 hours (it is not...?) and b.) if they carry non-dairy milk: 2
***************
# of days I've had a fever over 100 degrees: 2
# of times I've Google'd "Symptoms of Ebola": 1
# of times I've told myself the unexplained increase in temperature is just my body's way of 'revving the engine' for Sunday morning: 3
# of Tablespoons of Manuka honey consumed since Monday night: 5
# of packets of Thera-flu consumed: 2
# of times I've told myself, "Suck it up, buttercup, because you are running. Rain, snow, sick, healthy, or with Ebola. You are getting over that finish line": too many to count.
***************
And with that, I'm off! I'm sure whatever goes down this weekend will be blog-worthy, as usual. Just a note to all the first-time marathoners toeing the line this weekend - Amy, Tracy, Tami, Kerri - best of luck! You've put in all the work, now this is the fun part. Enjoy the experience!!
# of "World Marathon Majors" in the, well, world: 6
(the others are NY, Boston, Berlin, London and Toyko)
# of expected runners at the Chicago Marathon: 45,000
# of expected spectators: 1 MILLION
(wrap your head around that...I can't...)
# of feet in total elevation gain: 20
(now imagine Kim clicking her heels together in great joy)
# of world records set on the Chicago course: 4
# in hours of the fastest time set by a male in Chicago: 2:03
(by Dennis Kimetto in 2013. He just smashed the world record again in Berlin by running a 2:02 marathon. Dude's got legz.)
# of minutes per mile running at this pace: 4:43
# in hours of the fastest time set by a female in Chicago: 2:17
(set by gold medalist Paula Radcliffe in 2002)
# of minutes per mile running at this pace: 5:14
# in hours of the average finish time in 2013: 4:32
# of minutes per mile running at this pace: a very reasonable 10:03
# in hours it will take me to finish: TBD!
**************
# of times I've looked at the weather forecast since last Friday: 27
# of times it has changed: 27
# of texts Tanya sent me wearing her cold weather gear, ready to ship it to Nevada in the event we were dealing with snow: 13
# amount of gratitude I felt towards her: immeasurable
# of times rain has been in the forecast: 4
# of times I've cursed my traction-less shoes: 4
# of laps I took around Willows Park on Sunday morning when the sprinklers were on, in an attempt to practice in the water: 5
# of weird looks received: 3
(whatever, folks)
# of times I slipped: 0
(success!)
***************
# of days until I leave: 0
# of times I've worried Brian is going to get another kidney stone and/or accidentally burn down the house: 4
Amount I'm going to miss my guys: too vast to describe
How I'm going to resolve that sadness? Two words: ROOM SERVICE
# in minutes spent daydreaming about having a hotel room ALL TO MYSELF on Michigan Avenue: 22
# of minutes spent on the phone, being laughed at by a hotel employee when I very naively asked him if a.) their room service is 24 hours (it is not...?) and b.) if they carry non-dairy milk: 2
***************
# of days I've had a fever over 100 degrees: 2
# of times I've Google'd "Symptoms of Ebola": 1
# of times I've told myself the unexplained increase in temperature is just my body's way of 'revving the engine' for Sunday morning: 3
# of Tablespoons of Manuka honey consumed since Monday night: 5
# of packets of Thera-flu consumed: 2
# of times I've told myself, "Suck it up, buttercup, because you are running. Rain, snow, sick, healthy, or with Ebola. You are getting over that finish line": too many to count.
***************
And with that, I'm off! I'm sure whatever goes down this weekend will be blog-worthy, as usual. Just a note to all the first-time marathoners toeing the line this weekend - Amy, Tracy, Tami, Kerri - best of luck! You've put in all the work, now this is the fun part. Enjoy the experience!!
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